It's cowgirl country

In 7 seconds, Skyler Bennetch can jump off her horse, run 100 feet and rope the hind legs of a goat. It takes some people longer to tie their shoes.

By Claudia AdrienCorrespondent

In 7 seconds, Skyler Bennetch can jump off her horse, run 100 feet and rope the hind legs of a goat.It takes some people longer to tie their shoes."It's so innate," said Bennetch, 17, a state high school rodeo champion. "I'd have to think about it for a few hours to tell you how I do it."It may be easier to explain the feeling."Your heart is going 100 miles an hour," said Keri Sheffield, also 17, crowned in May as Miss Florida High School Rodeo and also a competitor. "You're about to show everybody what you've got."Both girls participate in events sponsored by the Florida High School Rodeo Association, and say the adrenaline rush happens between the time the calf or goat is released from its holding pen to when the signal sounds for the competitor to enter the arena.Thereafter, the competitor must tie the animal down with the rope while riding, or jump off the horse to rope the animal by hand."I've gotten past the point of getting nervous," Sheffield said. "I've been doing this so long, I don't think about the risk factor of getting hurt."Rope burn, broken ribs and temporarily being knocked unconscious are some of the injures Sheffield said she has witnessed, especially during the bull riding competition, an all-male event, where the competitor wears a riding helmet, a protective vest and an athletic mouthpiece.In a tamer event, cutting requires the rider to maneuver her horse between cattle, as if the horse were a sheep dog, to select one calf from the group.

"It's ballet on horseback," Bennetch said.- - -In May, Bennetch won the All Around Cowgirl award for her athletic achievements in multiple events, including first places in the Florida Champion Girls Cutter and Florida Champion Goat Tyer. She also won fourth in the state for barrel racing, where competitors must ride in a clover-leaf pattern around the barrels - quickly.In rodeo, gaining control and speed to rope and tie means Bennetch practices as much as 30 times a day, a habit she will continue in preparation for the National High School Rodeo Association, a weeklong competition in Gillette, Wyo,, in July. Competitors will be there from as far away as Great Britain, Australia and Hawaii."They're her fierce competition," said Sue Bennetch, Skyler's mother, about the Florida contingent of competitors heading to nationals. "But they are her best friends, too."It's difficult to imagine not having a family environment to support an intense pastime such as rodeo. The Bennetches' living room is nearly a shrine to their daughter's achievements. Saddles are stacked for display in one corner. A glass coffee table showcases the gold and silver belt buckles, some imbedded with turquoise stones, given as trophies that Bennetch, now a junior at North Marion High School, earned since she began competing in rodeos at age 6."She takes care of her horses before she takes care of herself," said Sue Bennetch, who is treasurer for the Florida High School Rodeo Association. "The barn will be spotless, but don't go near Skyler's bedroom."- - -When a competitor spends most waking hours devoted to practice and maintaining horses, cattle and goats, they say it is essential to have support."My mom swore she would never raise a country girl," Sheffield said about her mother, Joyce Sheffield. " 'Look where I am now,' she says, 'I have a motorhome, two horses and a rodeo <0x000A>queen.' "

Sheffield says she still needs to get headshots to print on a life-size magnet she wants to put on that motorhome for nationals, where the 11th-grade Belleview High School student will compete. During the pageant, she will be judged on how well she delivers a speech, answers impromptu questions and rides her horse in pattern formation.It's also an opportunity for Sheffield to demonstrate her skills as a spokeswoman for Florida rodeo.This year, she wants to improve scholarship opportunities for many competitors who are no longer able to continue riding because of the expense.Joyce Sheffield said there has been a decline in the number of competitors in recent years. In any one weekend of competition, a participant may spend about $500 to $700 on gas, lodging, feeding animals and registration costs.The Bennetch family makes the additional expense to send their daughter's horse, Montana, to massage therapy and swim practice, where he treads water in a pond to soothe his arthritis.The costs incurred now can pay off later for student competitors. Both Sheffield and Bennetch have the potential to earn scholarships to schools that have rodeo teams, such as Colorado State and California Polytechnic State University.Until then, Bennetch is more concerned about improving her goat-tying performance by one second."A blistering time would be a 6.0," she said.

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